Covey: Bob Webber Sr. Classic a special night at Star

Posted Sep 6, 2018 at 5:53 PMUpdated Sep 6, 2018 at 11:09 PM

Terrill Covey▲

This one means just a little bit more.

The 2018 Bob Webber Sr. Memorial Classic at Star Speedway is set to roar into action in Epping on Friday night, and as track owner Bob Webber Jr. prepares for his biggest racing event of the season, he said it will be special, being the first Star Classic weekend to bear his late father's name.

"Yea, it means a lot," he said. "This is a big one. I'm excited for it, and I want it to be big in his name."

The weekend's headliner, the International Supermodified Association (ISMA) will battle for 150 laps on Saturday, while the Granite State Pro Stock Series competes for 100 laps. Webber said he also expects close to 30 competitors in the small block supermodified division to duke it out for the Randy Witkum Memorial 50-lap shootout. And those are just the big races. The weekly late model, street stock, roadrunner and six shooter divisions will also be competing.

The weekend kicks off at 7:45 on Friday night with qualifying for the late models, strictly stocks, six shooters and roadrunners, and the six shooters and roadrunners will cap Friday night with their 25-lap feature races.

On Saturday the big engines come out, with qualifying races starting at 4:15 p.m., and the big money is on the line. Webber said the winners share in the ISMA Bob Webber Sr. Classic will be $5,000, not counting lap money and bonuses. The small block supermodified winner will leave with at least $3,155, but will have the opportunity for a much bigger payday.

"Whoever has the fastest time trial will have the opportunity to take a challenge and start at the rear of the field, and if they win, there will be a $10,000 bonus," Webber said. "So the winner, if they have the perfect day, come from the back and win, and get the bonuses they are eligible for, could go home with $18,155."

He said a lesson he learned from his father was that if the track provides big purses to winners, it keeps the drivers coming back, which keeps fans excited and everybody wins. The proof of that is the fact that there could potentially be over 30 cars vying for 24 starting spots.

"This could be the first time ever that cars will be going home not qualified," he said. "We've already got 27 cars registered, and I think we could see over 30."

In addition to bearing his father's name, Webber said there is added weight to this Classic weekend because there is a chance it could be the final Star Classic as it has been run since 1981. He said financial considerations have him considering possible changes after this year, so he has very high expectations for the weekend -- just in case it is the final incarnation of the event.

"I want everything to be as perfect as it can be," he said. "I'm realizing this year, without my dad, how much he sacrificed for the love of the sport. Now that it's me trying to make ends meet, I realize it's not as easy as it looks. It's all about my dad this year, and I'm all in, but we need to look at some possible changes going forward."

Among the big names coming in for the 150-lap ISMA race is Russ Wood, who won 11 Star Classics and was a close friend of Bob Webber Sr.

Wood has secured a ride in a Howie Lane owned car to throw his hat in the (bull) ring one more time. Wood will be joined by local favorites Dan Bowes, who currently leads the ISMA point standings, Jon McKennedy and Ben Seitz.

A look ahead

All three local tracks have huge races this weekend. While the Star Classic runs at Star on Friday and Saturday, fans of straight line racing will also have one of the biggest events of the season as the Lucas Oil Regional championship comes to New England Dragway. Racing starts at 9 a.m. on Friday with time trials and qualifying. Saturday is the big day, with qualifying starting at 9 a.m. and elimination in the NHRA's second highest level launching at 3 p.m. Saturday will culminate with the Night of Fire jet cars and alcohol powered dragsters and funny cars. Sunday the remaining elimination races will be held, starting at 9 a.m.

Hundreds of competitors, many of whom will be the future of the NHRA, will compete for the coveted Wallys trophies and the prestige of winning the Division I regional event.

Champions will be crowned at Lee USA Speedway on Friday night, starting at 7 p.m. Multiple rain-outs forced Lee to push its final week of competition back a week, and on Friday night the Pure Stock, Street Stock, Ironman and Late Model divisions will square off for the final points race of the season; when the dust settles champions will be determined.

Results are in

Frankie Eldredge won his third and fourth straight Late Model features on a night filled with double features in all divisions. Alby Ovitt duplicated the feat, winning both Street Stock features, while Brandon Mailhot and Brian DeStefano split the Ironman feature. Rookie Cam Huntress, 14, picked up both wins in the Pure Stock division, the first and second career wins for the Rochester teen. Chris Fultz closed the night with a win in the 75-lap enduro.

At Star Speedway on Saturday Bill Fiske extended his points lead and won the Big John DiBurro 59, the biggest Strictly Stock race of the regular season. He was joined in Victory Lane by Jay Sands and Ryan Kuhn split the two late model features. Robbie Bryant and Eric Skofield each won one half of the twin Northeast Classic Lite features, while Aaron Day (Roadrunners) and Cody Hodgdon (Six Shooters) each picked up wins as well.

Terrill Covey is a Seacoast Media Group correspondent and longtime observer of auto racing. He can be reached at tmjcovey@gmail.com. Follow him on Twitter at tcovey11.

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